Yoo Si-min steps down from Roh Moo-hyun Foundation to shield it from controversy

Yoo Si-min, former chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation. [Newsis]

Yoo Si-min, former chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, is stepping down as the foundation's standing adviser and ending his YouTube activities tied to the organization.

The Roh Moo-hyun Foundation announced Sunday on its website that it had dismissed Yoo from the standing adviser post effective Sunday, at his own request, and published a letter he sent to foundation supporters.

"I intend to step away from the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation for now," Yoo wrote, adding that he had asked the foundation to relieve him of the standing adviser role.

He said he had also notified the foundation that he would end "Alilleo Books" — the flagship program on the foundation's YouTube channel — at the end of June. "This is to prevent any difficulties the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation might face because of the commentary activities I plan to pursue," he explained.

He went on to say, "Please take good care of the foundation until we meet again. I love you."

Accusations of 'privatizing' the foundation — the backdrop to Yoo's resignation

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kwak Sang-eon, the son-in-law of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, had publicly criticized Yoo for allegedly privatizing the foundation. Some observers suggest Yoo's abrupt departure was aimed at avoiding conflict with Roh's family and heading off further controversy.

In a YouTube broadcast on June 12, Kwak said Yoo appeared in 68 percent of all videos on the foundation's YouTube channel by count, and that people associated with Yoo featured in content accounting for 76 percent of the channel's total runtime.

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kwak Sang-eon, son-in-law of former President Roh Moo-hyun. [Yonhap]

Kwak also said that of more than 2,000 videos on the foundation's YouTube channel, only 360 were related to the late former president. "I am not sure it is appropriate to mobilize the foundation's physical and human resources for this kind of operation," he said.

He added that he had no reason to oppose the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation or harbor ill intentions toward it, but said problems arose because it was not being run in accordance with its founding purpose. "This is a foundation that the public supports for the sake of former President Roh's political philosophy and achievements. Because it is not being operated as intended, I felt compelled to speak up," he said.

Kwak had previously criticized the foundation for operating more as a vehicle to promote Yoo than to honor the legacy of the late former president.

‘노무현 사위’ 곽상언…“노무현 재단이 유시민 홍보업체냐” 분노

[헤럴드경제=장연주 기자] 노무현 전 대통령 사위인 곽상언 더불어민주당 의원이 노무현재단이 설립 취지와 달리 유시민 전 노무현재단 이사장 홍보 중심으로 운영되고 있

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